In 1968 director Lindsay Anderson made the classic If.. with Malcolm McDowell as Mick Travis, a disaffected schoolboy who leads the ultimate schoolyard rebellion. If you have never seen it, you must!
In 1973 he made O Lucky Man with Malcolm McDowell as Mick Travis, a young man trying to find his way in the world. This film, which features the beautiful Helen Mirren, while not a sequel, I think, is even better than If...
The soundtrack is amazing! The songs were wriiten and performed by Alan Price, formerly of The Animals, and are featured strongly in the film in the form of interludes which show Price and his band performing live in the studio.
I only own this on vinyl, but it has been finally issued on CD in the last couple years. I absolutely love this album, which I discovered upon viewing the film for the first time when I worked for a video rental outlet in the late 1980's.
The songs are heartfelt and melodic and fit so well with the film. I had a real hard time choosing one to display here, Poor People, Sell Sell, Look Over Your Shoulder, they are all great. If you like go to Youtube and view them all. Even better, find the film and enjoy it with the music in the format it was designed for. Groovy!
I enjoyed O Lucky Man when I first saw it but the soundtrack sounded dated (unless you love Randy Newman, Ray Davies, & Elton John). For another McDowell treat, track down Time After Time. And for a tastier musical treat, try the soundtrack to Times Square (or Rock N' Roll High School).
ReplyDeleteI love Time After Time. My aunt and uncle took my cousins and myself to see it at the drive-in when I was a kid, and that film haunted me for a long time. Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy the music as much as I did. I've never been much of a fan of Newman or Elton John, however, the string of albums The Kinks released from Face to Face through Lola is singularly remarkable!
ReplyDelete